Men's tennis upsets No. 9 Texas

Posted: Sunday, February 16, 2003

By Staff Reports

The Georgia men's tennis team added another win to it record as the Bulldogs upset No. 9 Texas 4-3 Saturday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center in Atlanta. Stephan Timu won a three-set match to clinch the victory for Georgia.

''This is a classic match today,'' Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz said. ''It was a barn burner that lasted almost six hours. Our guys have grown so much in the last couple of weeks, particularly this weekend. I think their belief is getting to where it needs to be, and they are getting to the point where they know they can beat anybody.''

Georgia (2-3) clinched the doubles point for the second time in as many days, as the 43rd-ranked duo of Bo Hodge and Nicolas Boeker topped No. 30 Pete Stroer and Jimmy Haney 8-4 at the No. 2 doubles spot.

Strahinja Bobusic and Will Glenn were squared off against the Texas pair of Ryan Haymond and Alastair Jenkin at No. 3, when Jenkin double faulted on three straight points to give the Bulldogs a 9-7 win and secure the first point.

At the top singles spot, Hodge battled 19th-ranked Jean Simon to a first-set tiebreak. Hodge took a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak and two services aces gave him a 5-3 advantage, but the Longhorn would take the next four points to win the first set 7-6 (5).

Hodge, who is ranked No. 25 in the Omni Hotels National Rankings, got an early break in the third game of the second set, and with the help of five aces, Hodge held at 4-2. The Bulldog broke again in the seventh game and went on to hold serve in the final game to take the second set 6-2.

In the third and decisive set, Hodge again broke serve in the third game, but neither player could hold serve for the next four games. Hodge was able to maintain serve to lead 5-3, and both men served out the final two games for the 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 Bulldog win. That win gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the match. The victory marked Hodge's ninth win in 11 tries against ranked opponents.

''Bo Hodge won two huge matches this weekend against two highly ranked players,'' Diaz said.

The Longhorns drew even at 2-2 when Zarhi pulled out a three-set victory against Boeker, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 2 singles.

Freshman Raian Luchici picked up a break in the final game and took the first set 7-5 against Stroer at the No. 4 singles slot. The second set was very indicative of the entire dual match; it was a war. Stroer broke in the 11th game to hold a 6-5 advantage and chance to serve for the set, but the Georgia freshman from Romania held his ground and got a break of his own to send the second set into a tiebreak. Luchici won four of the first six points in the tiebreak en route to a 7-5, 7-6 (2) win to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead with two matches remaining.

A yell of satisfaction and a pumped fist fired up the Bulldog contingency as Oconee County native Jason Varela won the first set 6-4 in his No. 6 singles match against Roger Gubser. Varela seemed to be in control in the second set before Gubser made his comeback. The Longhorn got consecutive breaks to take a 5-4 advantage. The two battled into a second-set tiebreak, and Gubser led 4-2 at the first change-over and took the second set 7-6 (3).

With the final two matches in a third set at the same time, Timu made the shots when it mattered to forced a third-set tiebreak against Haney at No. 5 singles. The two were even at 3-3 at the first change over. Haney ripped a winner to go ahead 4-3 before Timu won four consecutive points to take the tiebreak and clinch the match for Georgia.

''Stephan was sensational in the third set today,'' Diaz said. ''He beat a really good player.''

Said Timu, ''I went into my singles with a lot of support of my team. I lost the first set; the guy played unbelievable. Hats off, he was untouchable.

''I hung in there in the second set, and came through in the third set. It was on serve and I got a break down 5-3. I played a great return game and pulled it out in the tiebreak. My serve and my teammates helped me out a lot today. I am really happy.''

Varela defaulted with the score 3-3 in the third set once the outcome of the match was decided for the 4-3 finals score.

''Jason could have and should have finished his match earlier,'' Diaz said. ''He led a set and 4-1 (in the second set), but I was proud to see him at 3-all in the third after falling down 0-3.''